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With both price and quality into consideration, I would have to say Sigma Makeup brushes. Obviously, they’re dupes of MAC brushes but for a fraction of the cost, which is what makes them so great. Most importantly, I love their quality whether they were dupes or not.

At this moment – ecotools and coastal scents brushes. Main reason is the fact that I can purchase ecotools brushes in my local drugstore, and CS brushes because they’re quite cheap and yet very good, and shipping costs are really low. 🙂

I haven’t had the chance to try MAC brushes but hope I will soon purchase 109 brush, and regular 187. 🙂

No, honey…CS brushes are cheap and of poor quality. I think its hilarious that the moment someone asks which brushes are best, someone wants to bring up the MAC price tag. Clearly, MAC brushes are indeed superior. Every makeup artist you see on TV has a MAC brush in hand. Seriously, “stupid” is a little ridiculous to add in front of MAC brushes…no need for any of that…

I feel that MAC brushes ARE ridiculously priced though. $30+ for ONE brush? I think not. I have coastal scents brushes and they ARE cheap. But I really want to try Sigma. They seem like very good quality for an affordable price.

okay… if you’ve used only sponge applicators, then drug store brand and coastal scents brushes are a miracle. i know how good they can seem as well as some cheaper brands available at ulta, for example. sephora offers a few super cheap sets that are honestly the worst brushes i’ve ever seen besides a few maybe at a dollar store. i know everybody wants to think that they’ve hit the jackpot because they were able to find amazing brushes for cheap, but it just doesn’t happen. i’m not even a rich girl; i’m a broke college student but i just bought my first mac brush, and i can swear to you that it is LIGHT YEARS ahead of any brush i’ve ever touched. my first thought when a mac artist showed it to me was that it didn’t even seem that soft to the touch, yet when i got home and used it, it blended within a few little swipes, compared to the enormous time consuming job i’d do with my “great cheap brushes”. i swear there’s a difference in quality; mac brushes are top of the line. if you don’t do any dramatic eye makeup or really blend much into the crease/outer v (so you keep makeup simple) then you shouldn’t own mac brushes. however, for people that like to do full (natural or dramatic) eye makeup, you NEED mac brushes to do an amazing job in a fraction of the time and effort. seriously, save up (quit buying any drinks or snacks out for a month) and purchase just one eye brush (the 217!!) and it will be your favorite makeup-related possession.

I choose MAC but I wish they were a bit cheaper, and I am not thrilled with the brushes that come in the holiday sets. (I prefer the shorter handle) It seems to me like other cosmetic brands have sales from time to time, but not MAC.

I would probably buy more Sigma brushes if they were all sold individually. I don’t like the “sets” because then I end up with brushes I don’t want.

Posh are terrible (with the exception of the eyeliner smudger brush, I have bought this brush for all my makeup friends), and Quo are ok – and sometimes go on for 40% off.

I like my Sigma brushes too, since they’re great quality for the price (as compared to MAC brushes). But I totally agree that they should sell a wider ranger of them individually. Because after buying the complete set, I find that there are many brushes I don’t actually use.

You don’t NEED that many (it’s just hard not to want them ALL!). I still use the 109 all the time – for almost everything! I can do a whole face – primer, foundation, powder, highlight, contour and blush with the 109 in minutes. I just keep a clean towel to swirl it around on in-between steps, so it doesn’t get too heavy with product.

Besides, the fewer brushes you have at first, the more you will learn and the better you will be because you have to find ways to make them work! 🙂 A wonderful exercize (that I do often) is to work out an entire look with just ONE brush. Sounds scary, but it’s fun and you learn new ways to use your brushes. Plus you get to brag by saying things like this to people:

I can ROCK a full-on, ultra-dramatic, well-blended look with ONE 242 brush. I know, because I did… Just last week 🙂

I only use MAC brushes and I find them to be of excellent quality! 🙂 Though I do want to branch out and use other brushes. Has anyone tried the Nars kabuki and Japanese geisha-esque brushes? I’m curious to try them but haven’t found many reviews.

I have only used two brush brands MAC and Lancome, so I’m not sure if I can give much insight into this conversation…I will say from what I’ve seen MAC has a lot of variety per type of brush use for the face. I think their prices are as reasonable as Lancome, Estee Lauder , and Clinique.

I like both brands. I’ve had a shader and contour shadow brush from Lancome for two years and they are still in good shape. I also have a blush and powder brush from Lancome. I am catching a few strays coming off, so I will probably have to buy some new ones from MAC for Christmas.

I have a blending brush, lip brush, and a pencil brush from MAC and they work great. However some of the hairs are separating a little…. How do I keep that from happening?

Also how do I wash them properly? I bought MACs brush wash, but haven’t tried it yet.

I’ve used brush cleaner (2 brands). The brush cleaner felt gross in my hands as I washed the brushes and didn’t do the best job.

I have baby shampoo in my house to bathe my Yorkie. I found that this works best to completely clean and preserve the brushes:
1) Wash with tepid water and baby shampoo (poured into my hands or directly onto the bristles – didn’t seem to make a difference);
2) Rinse brushes (bristles) until the water runs clear, and;
3) Then gently roll the wet brushes between soft towels to absorb excess water. Don’t squish the brushes – you don’t want to ruin their shape.

Then I let the brushes sit on a dry towel for a few hours. My brushes are like brand new after I wash them in this manner. I hope this helps!

Sorry, I forgot….I have a MAC 266 for gel and powder eyeliner; I use my Urban Decay liner brush for the waterline. I have a MAC 266-equivalent shaped brush by Too Faced for my eyebrows (powder). For lips, I use Smashbox retractable.

For blush I use Too Faced Teddy Bear; for loose powder, I use Urban Decay’s Powder brush.

The majority of my brushes are made of Taklon. I seek out those brushes based on the anti-bacterial property and anti-cruelty source. My 2 MAC brushes were my first brush purchases (made before I knew of Taklon).

I use MAC’s brush cleanser, and what I do is get my brushes wet under the tap (lukewarm water) then I squirt a little cleanser in my hand, and rub the brushes around my palm, making the cleanser froth, etc, & then I rinse them out under the water.
As far as the hairs separating, I have not had this happen anymore since I bought brush guards to put over the brushes when they are drying. Check it out: http://www.thebrushguard.com/index.html
Hope that helps 😀

Ok, I love MAC Brushes, but I also love my ecoTools brushes, and my taklon brushes from Aromaleigh/Meow. Once I figured out how to use brushes and what types of brushes were good to use in a specific situation.

I use mostly MAC brushes, and I’ve been very happy with the quality of them. Essence of Beauty are decent for the price, and I have a few Bobbi Brown and Benefit brushes that I like, but MAC are my favorite.

Why not the 187? What about the 188 or any of the duo-fiber brushes? I use baby shampoo for all my brushes and they seem to take it just fine (this includes the two duo fiber buffer/face brushes, the fan brush and the blush brush.